Lotto has gained great popularity in both the United States and abroad. Today, legal lotto games are conducted in over 35 states and Canadian provinces as well as internationally in over 25 countries. Lotto is a major source of revenues for the states and provinces which sponsor lotteries.
Lotto is a gambling game in which the wagerer must correctly pick a pre-set quantity of numbers to be drawn from a larger pool of numbers. In most lotto games, the player fills out computer coded cards with selected number combinations. The cards are then presented to a authorized lottery dealer. Lotto tickets containing the one or more selected sets are then generated by a computerized ticket generator and purchased by the player. Lotto ticket generators typically contain random number generators, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,665,502. These numbers randomly select number sets for players who do not choose to pick their own number combination.
At the time of the drawing (which is televised in many jurisdictions), the numbers (usually printed on balls) are withdrawn from a pool using number selection devices such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,583,736; 4,796,890 and 4,813,676. The balls are drawn without replacement (i.e., after a particular number is drawn, it is not returned to the pool and cannot be redrawn). If a preset number of the withdrawn balls corresponds to the numbers preselected by the player on a particular ticket, the player wins a cash prize. Currently existing lotto games pay cash awards in instances where a player picks all of the drawn numbers (corresponding to a jackpot), as well as those instances in which a player has picked less than all of the numbers, for example when the player has correctly picked 4 out of 6 or 5 out of 6 numbers of the selected combination.
Lotto tickets are typically purchased in two ways. Initially, players can code up a computer readable card with their number selections. Alternatively, lottery tickets are purchased by players who permit random ticket generators to generate their tickets. The selected numbers are then transmitted to a central computerized system which stores the selected numbers (as well as those coded up by the players), each of which correspond to a purchased ticket.
At the time of the drawing, the central governing authority, which is typically a state contractor, can thereby quickly determine whether one or more jackpot prizes has been awarded, and can further determine the number and distribution of sub-jackpot prizes.
A particular problem which has faced numerous jurisdictions which sponsor lotto games is that of declining revenues and profits. There are a number of state lottery agencies which are running deficits due to increased competition for players. With the proliferation of lotteries, states and Canadian provinces have aggressively campaigned to receive a larger share of static lotto revenues.
In addition, it is common for lotto jackpots to accumulate over many weeks. Accordingly, players frequently wait until a jackpot has grown to a substantial level before beginning to purchase tickets. Thus, the size of the jackpot is directly proportional to the demand for tickets. This phenomenon tends to create an inconsistent cash-flow for the lottery authority and frequently leads to frenzied buying at the last minute as the jackpot accumulates. This situation can result in people waiting in line for many hours to purchase tickets, disrupts the business of the ticket vendor, and discourages the elderly and infirm from purchasing tickets.
It would be desirable to provide a novel lotto style lottery game which would increase player interest and which would help to increase the revenues of a lottery which adopted the game. It would be particularly desirable to provide a novel lotto type lottery game which permits players to reutilize lottery tickets for more than one drawing. Such a system would encourage players to purchase tickets early in a lotto jackpot cycle by enabling them to re-utilize their tickets for subsequent drawings. The present invention provides a system in which the demand for tickets occurs from the first drawing. The novel lotto game of the present invention can be easily implemented in currently existing on-line lotto ticket systems.
A principal object of the present invention then is to provide a novel lottery game which incorporates a jackpot ticket carryover provision which is designed to radically increase player participation and interest.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel lotto game which facilitates the potential for payment of cash prizes for losing tickets during a multiple sequence of drawings.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a novel lotto type lottery game which can be easily implemented with existing on-line lotto systems.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the Summary and Detailed Description which follow.